1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to method and apparatus for handling cartridges of the type which house an information storage medium, such as magnetic tape.
2. Prior Art and Other Considerations
Cartridges, also known as cassettes, have recently become popular units for housing information storage media, such as magnetic tape. For example, cartridges housing 8 mm magnetic tape are now widely used in connection with the storage of data. For the data to be utilized, the cartridge must be loaded into a tape drive wherein tape read and write operations occur. In many applications, data of interest may be recorded on a plurality of such cartridges, making it necessary to load and retrieve the plurality of cartridges with respect to the drive.
In order to automate the loading and retrieval of cartridges, an automated cartridge library has been developed, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,277, entitled CARTRIDGE TRANSPORT ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF OPERATION THEREOF, which is commonly assigned herewith and incorporated herein by reference. The automated cartridge library includes a cartridge transport assembly which has a pair of engagement fingers. The engagement fingers are oriented and configured to engage notches provided on opposite edges of a standard 8 mm magnetic tape cartridge. When the cartridge is positioned for loading, abutment of the cartridge with a drive or storage rack forces the cartridge flush against the cartridge transport assembly and depresses a plunger borne by the assembly. When depression of the plunger is detected, a solenoid carried on the transport assembly operates via a linkage to rotate the engagement fingers out of the cartridge notches.
It is an object of the present invention to provide another cartridge handling apparatus and method which operates efficiently and compactly.